The concept of nature-based solutions (NbS) has been endorsed by multiple international organizations as one of the priority approaches to address climate-related challenges. These solutions are versatile, and can simultaneously address challenges such as climate impacts, public health, inequality, and the biodiversity crisis, being uniquely suited for urban adaptation. NbS are particularly relevant in the developing world, where strategies should be as self-reliant as possible, reducing the need for technological processes that require expensive and complex maintenance. NbS can also promote political, societal, cultural, and ultimately, systems change. The purpose of this paper is to present a literature review on the use of NbS for urban adaptation, identifying the main opportunities, challenges, and, most specifically, knowledge gaps, which can be addressed in subsequent research. The present paper identifies four types of knowledge gaps that are particularly relevant for the use of NbS for urban adaptation: future climate uncertainty, lack of site-specific technical design criteria, governance strategies, and effectiveness assessment evaluation. To overcome local governments’ limitations, specific implementation strategies and structures should be considered, centered on knowledge transfer within a transdisciplinary and participatory framework. These should be developed in partnership with urban planning entities, seeking to consolidate these approaches in policies that support social resilience and institutional capacity. Therefore, urban adaptation should be initiated with pilot projects to simultaneously address the urgency for implementation, while allowing urban planning practices the time to adjust, building capacity at the local level, and filling knowledge gaps through the assessment of effectiveness. The climate-resilience of urban tree species adequate to the future climate was identified as a relevant knowledge gap for the implementation of NbS.

The climate crisis disproportionately impacts women and girls all over the world. To understand what the priorities in terms of policy are, an examination is conducted on the impacts taking place in South Asia (focusing on the countries of Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan), an area of the globe that is highly vulnerable to climate change and is characterized by having strong patriarchal values. Gender stereotypes and roles in the region heighten women and girls' vulnerability to climate impacts, both in general and in situations of crisis resulting from extreme weather events. Deepening the understanding of the climate crisis' impact on gender in South Asia, a region at the frontline of these effects, can assist in reaching a baseline understanding of the challenge from a global perspective. Methodologically, we reviewed an extensive body of literature, both specialty books and scientific articles, recent institutional reports as well as news or journalistic reports from reliable international press. In this research, the argument is made that today, climate action and urban development cannot be considered separately from women's rights. Extensive scientific data and research support the integration of a gender perspective in urban adaptation standard practices, and priorities in terms of policy to safeguard women and girls are identified accordingly. The allocation of half of climate funds, including those of loss and damage, directly to women or women-led organizations is identified as being particularly relevant. Bold and ambitious policymaking is urgently needed to build capacity to face the multiple crises unfolding.

Nature-based solutions have been promoted as an effective strategy to address climate impacts, including urban temperature reduction. In this paper, we analyze the impacts of the introduction of street trees on temperature (Universal Thermal Climate Index, UTCI) for three different dates, 2000, 2023, and 2050. A 3D model was developed in Rhinoceros software for a part of George Town, on Penang Island. Four different sections of streets were simulated after integration of the model with the Grasshopper plug-in, where a parametric system was built for temperature measurements based on simulations in the Ladybug and Honeybee plug-ins. The tree species used were selected from a pool of tree species commonly planted in urban settings in Malaysia that have low and medium sensitivity to climate impacts. The results show a maximum reduction of 7 °C between 2000 and 2050, achieved on a street with an NW–SE orientation that was planted with three rows of trees. The minimum UTCI reduction achieved was 3 °C, between 2023 and 2050, in a street with NW–SE orientation that was planted with one tree row. The two streets with a SW–NE orientation showed a 5 °C temperature reduction between 2023 and 2050. Both streets have only one row of trees but different species and sizes, with the bigger trees reducing the temperature in a slightly larger area. The results show the importance of introducing and safeguarding street trees to reduce urban temperatures in the country, potentially keeping temperatures below life-threatening levels, thereby safeguarding urban health, while also reducing costs of energy consumption. Solar orientation, the number of tree rows, and their distribution impact the outcomes. The findings provide useful guidance for climate-conscious urban planning practices in Malaysia.

This paper analyses the first cycle of the Malaysia Adaptation Sharing Hub (MASH), an exploratory national knowledge-transfer and climate-adaptation acceleration network developed under the Penang Nature-Based Climate Adaptation Program (PNBCAP), the country’s first urban climate adaptation program. MASH was designed to address the lack of capacity in urban climate adaptation across Malaysian cities, including limited access to localized climate data and challenges in identifying and implementing adaptation measures. Through a structured, three-step framework combining scientific input, community engagement, peer-to-peer exchange, and policy accountability, the network supports local governments in identifying, designing, and committing to concrete adaptation initiatives. As the PNBCAP adopts a nature-based solutions (NbS) approach, these solutions are a particular focus of MASH. Drawing on evidence from the first MASH cycle (2024/2025), including follow-up engagements and online policy-announcement workshops involving ten local councils, this paper documents the types of adaptation initiatives advanced, the conditions enabled by the framework, the persisting barriers to implementation, and finally, the lessons learned. Findings show that structured, in-person, multi-sectoral engagement is effective in building trust, shared understanding, and stakeholder ownership. Follow-up one-on-one sessions are critical for translating dialogue into concrete adaptation initiatives. Cities respond best to practical, implementable tools rather than purely conceptual frameworks, and capacity needs are strongly oriented toward tailored expert support, access to climate finance, and monitoring indicators. However, the translation of commitments to implementation remains uneven. Persistent constraints, particularly in terms of staff capacity, political will, and budgets, limit progress, while leadership changes and institutional barriers disrupt continuity. Community awareness and engagement remain insufficiently addressed, despite their importance for long-term adaptation success. A total of 14 adaptation initiatives were announced, six of them adopting NbS. In addition, three local governments requested admission to the next MASH cycle (2026/2027) and were accepted, indicating growing institutional interest in and perceived value of the framework.